Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

It is in Hungary’s national economic interests to continue its excellent cooperation with Huawei

April 27, 2019 1:25 PM

“It is in Hungary’s national economic and strategic interests to continue its excellent cooperation with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI from Beijing on Friday.

The Minister held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the second international forum of the One Belt, One Road initiative being held in the Chinese capital, including with Huawei Technologies’ Group President of the European Region James Li, and head of the company’s Hungarian subsidiary William Wu.

Following the meeting, Mr. Szijjártó told MTI that he had made it clear to Huawei’s directors that no enterprise may be discriminated against in Hungary because of its origin. “Only one thing counts in Hungary with relation to enterprises: that they respect Hungarian regulations. If they do so, it makes no difference what country they came from”, he declared.

“The Hungarian economy is undergoing a dimensional transition, which is in harmony with the global economy’s elemental renewal in which digital solutions and 5G technology will be the fundamental requirements for economic and business success”, Mr. Szijjártó explained.

“It is in the fundamental interests of countries such as Hungary, which has a small and extremely open economy, to overtake its competitors with relation to digital solutions and the development of 5G networks”, he continued.

Accordingly, the Minister said it is extremely important for Hungary to be among the frontrunners in the proliferation of 5G infrastructure, and this is why the strategic cooperation agreement concluded with Huawei several years ago, and the fact that in Hungary Vodaphone and Deutsche Telecom work together with Huawei, is so important.

While in Beijing, Mr. Szijjártó also held talks with the directors of China Ocean and Aviation Group Co. Ltd. And Hainan Airlines.